How to actually get reviews

Reviews are the biggest thing separating the three firms in the map pack from the ones underneath. They are also the thing most tradespeople feel awkward asking for.

The awkwardness is not really the problem. The problem is that you ask at the wrong moment and make it too much work.

Ask on the day, not next week

The moment is when you have just finished and they are pleased — standing in the kitchen looking at it. That is when they mean it most and when saying no is hardest.

A week later they are busy and the job is normal life again. The intention was genuine; it just expired.

Make it one tap

Google gives every profile a short review link. Get yours, shorten it, and put it in a text message you send while you are still packing up. 'Thanks for today — if you have a minute, a review really helps a one-man business: [link]'.

Anything more than one tap loses most people. Do not send them to your website and ask them to find the button.

Give them something to write about

'Please leave a review' produces 'Great service, thanks'. Which is fine, but says nothing to the next reader.

Ask about a specific thing instead: 'If you write one, mentioning that we sorted the leak the same day would help — that’s what people worry about.' You get a review that does some selling, and they have something to type.

What to do about a bad one

Reply, once, calmly, and do not argue the facts in public. Say you are sorry it was not right, give a way to sort it, and stop.

Everybody reading knows a single bad review among twenty good ones means nothing. What they do read closely is the reply — and a defensive one does far more damage than the review itself.

A page of nothing but five stars also reads as fake. One four-star review with a sensible reply underneath makes the rest more believable.

What not to do

• Do not offer a discount for a review. It is against Google’s rules and it is obvious.
• Do not have friends write them. Reviewer accounts with no history stand out.
• Do not ask everyone at once — twenty reviews in a week from a profile that had none looks exactly like what it is.
• Do not filter, asking only the happy ones. In the UK that strays into unfair trading practice, and it stops you hearing anything useful.

Common questions